By Shanice Davis

The Catholic Club here at CSUSM hopes to spread the word of God through its members.

Melinda Lopez, president of the Catholic Club, talked about the possibilities one can experience

by simply having faith in God. Lopez said that faith is a strong component of the club.

“We are a group of students who meet and seek to grow in communion with God, our faith

and each other,” Lopez said. “As a club, we seek to provide a safe environment for students to

encounter Christ.”

Lopez explained that celebration and appreciation of God is a large aspect of the faith in Catholic

tradition.

“Four Sundays before we celebrate the coming of Jesus in the Season of Advent, we prepare

our hearts, souls and minds for the coming of Jesus,” Lopez said. “We celebrate the Christmas

season beginning Dec. 24 with the birth of Christ, until the coming of the three Magi on Jan. 6.

Lopez also said that anyone and everyone can take away a lot by having a relationship with

Christ and by the gratitude that one receives when they have one.

“Students can take away that they are unconditionally loved by God and that they are called

to do amazing things,” Lopez said. “Sometimes we are caught up in the business of life and

feel alone, insignificant and lost, but being Catholic allows you to be apart of something that is

universal, while we are all human and realize we are not perfect, we strive to know deeply who

our Lord and Savior is.”

In addition to receiving and exposing the love of God to others, the Catholic Club also strongly

believes in giving back and helping others in need. Their main goal of focus is donating as much

as they possibly can to people in need and being a light for Christ on campus as they try to reflect

Gospel messages in their everyday lives.

The Catholic Club raised over $150 for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as part of their water

project to provide clean water supply for developing communities.

The club is also working on another community project for the holiday season. Future plans

include sponsoring some families in need for Christmas. Currently the organization is accepting

collections of gently used clothing and new blankets for homeless high school aged students as

part of a fundraiser.

With the semester coming to an end soon, the Catholic Club has only a few more events left.

For their last meeting, the club is hosting a Christmas social party from 7 p.m. on Dec. 3 at The

Clarke in room 110.

Next semester, the organization will be holding meetings from 7 p.m. every Wednesday at The

Clarke. The meetings will include social nights, guest speakers, Bible studies and Mass.

Lopez encourages anyone interested in building or strengthening their relationship with God to

join the club at any of their weekly meetings on campus.

For more information visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/

CsusmCatholicClub.

“Each and every one of us is at a different point in our faith journey and the mission of our club

is to offer opportunity for anyone to share and grow in their faith,” Lopez said.